News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-04-14
FARMER HOyEY's COON HUNT.
4 Days Sport Long to be Remem-
bered, Except by the Farmers Dog.

GERMANTOWN, Pa.---Jefferson Ho-
9ey, a farmer of this place, makes no
profession of being a hunter, but had
confidence enough in himself to think
that he could shoot coon if he could
find one, and so a few days ago he bor-
rowed a shotgun and dog and started
out to look up a coon. Not knowing
that man might as well hunt for eels
on a scrub oak barren as for coons in
IN the daytime, Farmer Hovey secured
the country for miles around, patiently
and pluclzily keeping his eye ont for the
coon he thought he would be able to lay
| low. The dearth of coons finally be-
came so apparent to the hunter that he
turned his face homeward. He reached
a spot along the Paupack Creek known
as Gas Hollow, when the dog began to
bristle up and growl, and crept cautious
ly toward a clump of brush.
'Ah !" said Farmer Hovey. "There's
a coon, after all. I'll sneak up and
wing him."
The dog growled louder and fercer
than ever as Hovey approached and
carefully parted the brush to get sight
of the coon, He didn't get sight of it,
but his eyes fell on the shaggy presence
of a bear of gigantic proportions stand
ing behind the brush, and evidently de-
hberating on what course he would pur-
sue. There was the stump of a fallen
tree twenty feet to Hovey's right. 1t
was about four feet high. Farmer
Hovey reached it in three jumps and
mounted it at bound. The dog stood
still and bristled and growled. The
bear decided on its course, and came
through the brush at the dog, like log
rolling down hill. The dog sidled off.
Farmer Hovey took aim at the bear and
let it have one barrel of fine shot. The
charge put the bears right eye out, and
with howl that made the stump trem-
bic b1lin turned toward the hunter on
his perch.
The dog was gritty, and, as the bear
turned, seized it by the left foot and
braced himself. The dog was big and
strong, and the impetus of the bear was
stopped. 1t stood still for a moment,
howling and undecided, and Farmer
Hovey let go another barrel. 1t cannot
be told now where the charge took effect,
but the bear seemed to pay no attention
to the shot. Bruin seemed paralyzed,
for he remained quiescent, with the dog
hanging on to his hind foot, which was
poised in air, while Farmer Hovey load
ed and fired until he had sent nine
rounds of ammunition into the bear,
and had only two left.
At the ninth round the bear seemed
to come to himself and to awaken for the
first time to full appreciation of the
situation, for he gave his hind foot a
shake and the dog landed ten feet away.
10 Ia Il
but started forward like II locomotive to
settle with Farmer Hovey ON the stump.
In expectation of this charge the farmer
had reserved his ammunition, and it was
not until he saw the white of the enemy's
eyes and the root of his tongue through
the wide open jaws that he gave himself
the order to fire. The contents of both
barrels went into the bears open mouth
and lodged somewhere i'll the interior,
but the bear kept right on. Farmer
Hovey leaped from the stump with the
intention of flying for safety, but MOTTO
ing that blood was pouring from the
bears mouth in streams, he made up
his mind that the big brute couldn't
last much longer, so he concluded to
stay with Bruin and be in at the death.
The farmer drew his pocket knife, and
as the bear came up he grabbed it by
one ear and iabbed the knife into its
head. Bnt there was more strength in
the bear than Farmer Hovey had sus-
pected, and before he could draw the
knife out to use it again the bear struck
him blow with one of its paws that
knocked him to the ground stunned and
helpless.
At that instant the dog came into the
fight again, and drew the dying bears
attention. It was the last thing the dog
ever did except to die, for with one
sweep of its forepaw the bear dealt the
dog a blow that killed it.
BY this time Farmer Hoyey had drag
ged himself to his feet with a resolution
that he would lose no time in leaving
the scene, but 1T was not necessary. The
bear fell to tbA ground and died almost
instantly after avenRing itself ON the
dog. HOyey's knife was still sticking in
its brain. The farmer went home and
got rope. He returned with help, and
the bears carcass was drawn two miles
through the laurels to Chapmantown.
The bear weighed 400 pounds. 1t was
cut up, and every family in Chapman
town had sample of it's meat for dinner
the next day.
''When L go after coons again" says
Farmer Hovey, "I'll be loaded for bear,
and don't you forget it"